Sharing

We play a rousing game of spot the fire hydrant on our occasional walks around the neighborhood to keep the boys preoccupied. It is simple. They need to identify a specific number of fire hydrants to get a treat...tonight the number oscillated between 3 and 4 and the treat was a Nib.

Tonight Adam introduced a new twist; they could bank hydrant sitings individually or as a team. The results were interesting. If Collin sited a hydrant first, he was reluctant to opt for "team working". However, if Aaron was ahead in the count, Collin would quickly ask Aaron if he was willing to considering sharing points.

Aaron, perched in his external frame backpack on Adam's shoulders, was on top of his game, making most of the initial sitings and sending Collin into fits of frustration. Even after Adam explained that they would each have more if they agreed to share, Collin would demand individual counting if he managed to accomplish a siting before Aaron.

The parallels to "real life" are striking. How often do we act in what appears to be our own best interests? How different would life be if we all decided to to share the blessings that have been given to us, rather than hoard them for our own personal gain?

The answer is simple. In helping each other, we would be helping ourselves. We would share in more abundance in the end.